The Legend of Spyro: A Change in Fate (Rewrite)
by Soldier of the Dragons
Summary: The purple dragon fail. Defeated, Spyro is left at the Terror's mercy. With this single even, all that the Chronicler had foreseen had crumbled before him. Now, with the change of one fight, the fate of everyone has changed.
1. Who is the Terror of the Skies

**A/N: I know, almost a year from when I said I was going to be rewriting these. Well, here it is. Hope ****y'all like it. I'm posting two chapters at a time.**

**Song: Kiss This, by Aaron Tippin.**

* * *

"AAAAHH-Ugh!" Came a grunt of pain following a cry as a purple and gold blur flew through the air.

"Spyro!" A gold glowing blur came flying before slowing down, revealing a dragonfly. "Spyro, are you alright man?!" The dragon that the dragonfly was speaking to groaned and shook his head around as he rose to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm just dandy. Like as if I was never thrown into a wall to begin with, Sparx." Said the now named Spyro as he looked at the dragonfly. "Or wasn't in a fight with a full grown dragon."

"RAAAAAAWW!" Roared Spyro's foe as it continued to circle Spyro while staying low, ready to attack again. The dragonfly, known as Sparx, eyed Spyro's opponent, a black dragoness that towered over both of them.

"Good point. Well, I'll let you get back to it!" And the dragonfly was gone again. Spyro whipped his head to the side as he followed the dragonfly's trail.

"What a brother you are!" Spyro yelled after him.

"RRRAWW!" The dragoness roared again. Spyro looked back at the dragoness.

"Oh, shut up. If you really wanted me to shut or start fighting again, all you had to do was ask." The dragoness flinched back in slight shock at Spyro's outburst. "Alright, let us continue." Spyro shook his sides, rattling his scales, and spread his stance, ready to continue the fight. The black dragoness' eyes narrowed slightly. Spyro froze when he saw her actions before shaking it off.

'I don't need to get distracted, Ignitus needs me so I need to end this now.' Thought Spyro. Focusing on the dragoness once more, Spyro saw an opportunity. The dragoness was looking away briefly, but that was all he needed.

Lunging forward, Spyro launched a fireball. The resulting blast surprised the dragoness. Stumbling backwards, the dragoness was surprised to see Spyro flying through the smoke and dust left behind by the explosion. Raising a single foreleg, the dragoness blocked the attack then retaliated by whipping her tail forwards and hit Spyro across his chest.

Seeing the chance, the dragoness decided to end the fight right then. Just as she started to reach out to bite Spyro's neck while he flew back, a voice thundered through her head.

"No, don't kill him, my servant. Take him as a prisoner Cynder." The dragoness, now known as Cynder, shivered as the voice of her master stopped her. The mere voice of The Dark Master filing her head sent shivers down her spine like a cold goo being poured down her back. It left her feeling like a ghost went through her body. She didn't like it, and if she had a choice, she would never let it happen again.

But she didn't have a choice.

"I have other plans for him when I am back. Take him with you to my mountain after you release me." His voice faded from her mind and Cynder released a ragged breath. She looked at the prone form of Spyro. She assumed that was his name as that was what the glowing dragonfly called him.. She didn't want to kill him. She never wanted to kill anyone.

But she had been forced to ever since the ape king forced the dark energy into her so The Dark Master could control her anytime he wished. That merely being one of many reasons. Due to the darkness that now flowed through her she controlled more elements than she should have been able to, grew to the size of a full adult too early, and her once young innocent mind was forced to mature far too early. The only reason she never fully went insane was due to her caretaker who was forced to educate her when The Dark Master wasn't.

Cynder closed her eyes as she remembered the slaved mole, Salvia. She had taught Cynder everything she knew outside of anything combat. When she wasn't teaching her she would tell her stories when she got the chance, trying to give her some semblance of a childhood that she lost. The stories inspired Cynder and made her believe that everything she was doing would one day be corrected. This hope came from one of the many legends she listened to. A story telling of when a new purple dragon would rise and finally put an end to The Dark Master. A hope that she would one day be free of her. A hope that died like Salvia who had finally succumbed to her wounds caused by her many punishments at the paws of the apes.

Cynder sighed deeply as she opened her eyes, her gaze falling on the purple dragon before her. For the briefest moment in their fight that hope was rekindled. But like all things, it was swept away. And now she had to bury it for good.

Reaching out, Cynder picked up the purple dragon before turning and taking to the sky. She grabbed the gemstone that housed the power of the Fire Guardian and set off for the portal that opened in the distance at the Dark Master's will, permitting her passage to the convexity realm.

Flying through the swirling purple and blackness that formed the realm, Cynder finally landed on the central island that floated in the center. In the middle sat an archway with stairs leading up to it. Leaving the unconscious dragon behind, Cynder approached the archway and placed the gemstone in the middle. The reaction was instantaneous.

Cynder backpedaled as a swirling portal formed within the archway, sucking the gemstone into it. Unlike the previous times she had done this, the portal stayed. The wind soone picked up and Cynder felt it trying to pull her into it as well so she backed up more. As she did she saw the dragon she had brought with her was sliding towards the portal as well.

Not wanting to anger the Dark Master any more than needed, Cynder grabbed the dragon and took wing once more, this time leaving the realm. After leaving the convexity realm, Cynder turned to circle her fortress, waiting for the Dark Master to leave the realm as well. So she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Just when she was debating whether or not to reenter the portal, it closed in on itself and disappeared. Curiosity got the better of her as Cynder wondered what had happened, but before she could do anything the booming voice of the Dark Master thundered through her head, stopping her dead in mid-air.

"NO! I SHOULD BE ALIVE!" Cynder wasn't sure what exactly the Dark Master was referring to, but she had a good idea. "Nevertheless, I am now free of that retched place. Servant, return to my Mountain and cage that dragon there and wait for my next orders." Cynder's body shook as the Dark Master left her mind once more, still hating the feeling.

She looked back at her fortress briefly. Just as she turned away, Cynder saw the Fire Guardian retreating off into the distance, the golden glow that once accompanied the dragon she held with him.

'At least some are escaping this hell, even if only temporary.' Cynder though somberly. She locked her eyes forward as she too left the fortress behind.

* * *

The eyes of the purple dragon fluttered open before closing tightly as light shined into them. Dragging his head against the cold ground that he was laying on, Spyro attempted to go back to the sweet embrace of sleep, hoping to ignore the rising sun.

'Wait, when did I go to sleep?' Spyro thought suddenly.

Bolting upright like as if he was struck with lightning, Spyro looked around. All he saw were stone walls in front and on either side of him with a small window that the light shined through. Spinning around, Spyro found thick iron bars blocking his only escape.

"You have got to be kidding me?" Spyro asked no one.

Chuckling suddenly started up and the largest ape Spyro ever saw came walking into his view. Instantly Spyro was on guard. He couldn't get to the ape but he would be ready for whatever came.

The ape let out a laugh at the dragon's action.

"Seems like luck is with me. Just as I come to see you, you wake up as if expecting me. Saves me the time it would take to wake you myself. Though that would have been more fun." The ape sneered and grabbed the bar as he leaned forward to glare at Spyro. "Don't bother trying any of your powers. So long as you are within these walls they are gone."

Spyro's eyes narrowed at that and tried to bring his fire from within his chest but found that it was gone. A little surprised, he looked away before facing the ape again. The ape was covered in black fur with dark armor and a pair of swords on his hip.

"Who are you?" Questioned Spyro. The ape chuckled darkly again.

"What does it matter to you, but if it'll sate your puny mind, I am the King of the Apes, Gaul." Said Gual with pride. Looking to his left at the sound of the creaking of a door opening then closing, he continued. "And you already met her." Spyro eyed the one who was coming but the person had yet to reveal themselves.

"The Dark Master summons you, Gual." Said a distinctly feminine voice. Gual's eyes narrowed at the obvious disrespect, who Spyro guess was a female, her voice.

Gaul huffed and glared at Spyro one last time before marching his way out. Spyro, who was now leaning to the side trying to see who was there without getting too close to the bars, kept trying to figure out who it could have been. Then, the female made themselves known. Cursing under his breath as he jumped back, Spyro glared at the newcomer and took a defensive stance.

There, just outside the cell he resided in, was the cause of his imprisonment, the servant of the Dark Master.

The Terror of the Skies.

Cynder.

The dragoness stopped just in front of his cell and sat down on her haunches, looking the way she came.

"Don't take anything he says seriously. He may be a king, but he's actually quite the scaredy cat." She turned to Spyro, a blank look on her face. Spyro continued to glare at her. Their stare off continued for so long that the seconds that passed soon turned to minutes and soon Spyro feared that they would be like that until his scales turned gray and he would crumble away into dust.

Finally, one of them gave.

Cynder turned away and looked down at the ground and started to scratch the ground with her claws.

"Would you please stop looking at me that way?" She asked. Spyro snorted, surprised. Her voice was suddenly different, as if it didn't belong to an adult dragon. As if it belonged to one not much older than he was. Upon that realization, Spyro looked Cynder over, analyzing her form with a calculating gaze. He soon realized that her eyes were not clouded with white like they were before. How he didn't notice this before was beyond him. Unlike when he last saw her, Cynder's form was sagging as if she didn't care anymore about anything. Spyro saw multiple ways that she could easily be attacked and beaten from that alone.

Another was the way she was clawing the ground. She looked like a child in a sense doing so, as if she was being shy. Her gaze was drifting, seemingly lost in thought. And the way she asked him something.

Spyro started to relax out of his stance and took a step back into a sitting position.

'This isn't right. Something is up here. Why is Cynder, The Terror of the Sky, of all people, asking for something instead of demanding it?! Ordering it?!' Though Spyro. Giving her a scrutinizing look, Spyro spoke his mind.

"What is wrong with you?" She didn't immediately respond but she did stop scratching the rock floor. She continued to stare aimlessly at nothing for awhile.

"Everything." She replied. Spyro was actually surprised she even answered, doing so in the childish tone. He was so surprised that his stance faltered.

"How couldn't everything be wrong." She laughed darkly. "I was taken even before I had a choice. Forced to do things that resulted in night terrors, and if I didn't do so willingly then I'd be forced to watch through my own eyes as my body did the deed against my control. I'm not sure which is worse. Willingly killing hundreds, or be forced to watch it happen without being able to look away." She finally looked up at Spyro, who now stood in slight shock while eyeing her warily. "I hate to give that bastard credit for anything, but I'll give him this; he knows how to make someone suffer." Spyro now looked bewildered as his brows rose slightly. Cynder noticed his look.

"I'm talking about Malefor." Spyro's breath hitched. Cynder raised a brow. "What? Who did you think I was talking about?" Spyro shook his head lightly.

"I don't understand." Cynder sighed and lowered her head, shaking it a bit. Looking back up, she spoke.

"Did you seriously think that I did all of those acts out of my own free will?" It wasn't really a question. "When I was an egg, Gaul took me from my nest, wherever that was, and brought me here. He then used dark magic to force me into this form so Malefor could use me like a puppet on a string. For about five years it went that way before he stretched his power too thin and I regained control. Though I couldn't escape. Gaul had imprisoned me the moment I had control. Not like it mattered. I was a hatching in a body I didn't understand and only knew of nothing but death. Since Malefor couldn't control me like he did before, he had me taught everything that could be. From basic speech and writing to complex algorithms. All so I could be his war machine." A lost look came over her briefly before it passed.

"During that time I was given a choice. Fight and kill whoever he told me to, or be forced to do so like before. Now that I had understood what I was doing was wrong, I resisted. But the result was always the same. Eventually I just did as he told me. It was easier and I could actually say sorry to everyone I had to kill and even gained some freedoms. But every night was the same. Everyone that I had ever killed, willingly or not, haunted my dreams." Her voice trailed off at the end of her story, a haunted look glazed over her eyes. Despair was laced throughout her voice as she told her tale, something that Spyro easily caught.

Said dragon had now completely dropped his guard as he stared at the dragoness in front of him. Right there, right in front of him, was the only other survivor of the attack on the temple so many years ago. The only difference was that Ignitus had managed to save him while Gual stole her egg. They were raised differently and yet so similarly. Both were isolated and only knew of one kind of life. The differences were few but great.

He had a happy childhood and fought by choice. She didn't, and was now feared because of it.

Spyro shook his head and closed his eyes. Even if by some miracle that she would be able to escape the torment that plagued her, no one would ever accept her because of what she was forced to do.

Spyro snarled and raked his claws across the stone floor, leaving deep gouges behind. He had never even met any other dragons than the Guardians, but he knew from the tales that they told him that everyone that was left would judge and accuse her of her actions. Actions that weren't even her own.

Cynder flinched back at Spyro's reaction to her past. Thinking that it was due to him thinking she was lying, Cynder decided to leave. She had orders after all.

Cynder looked away from Spyro and started for the door.

"Food and water will be brought to you. I recommend that you replenish your strength." Said Cynder. Spyro looked up, his snarl disappearing, and watched as she left. Thinking she misinterpreted his actions he tried to stop her, stepping up to the bars to speak but saw that she was already gone. He sighed as he turned back around and laid down in the middle of his cell, waiting for his next surprise.

* * *

Gual marched down the dark halls of Mt. Malefor with his shoulders high and his swords sheathed on his hips. Apes cowered around him as he passed them by. But he paid them no mind. He was their king and they were merely servants to him, nothing more.

Soon, he reached a door that rose high above him. Stopping before it, Gaul raised one of his large fists and beat on the frame. By this point there were no other apes nearby as they all feared what resided on the other side. The echo of Gaul's knocking sounded through the door for the empty chamber that the door blocked.

Lowering his fist, the Ape King waited for permission to enter and soon found himself waiting for longer than he wished. Eventually, a voice permitted his entrance. The doors suddenly open when made to open them himself, startling him. Hiding his surprise behind a face of conviction, Gual stepped into the room. What lay before him was what any would imagine a throne room too look like. A long hall with pillars lining along the sides of the walkway leading to the throne itself.

However, instead of a thrown, a large, dark purple crystal grew from the ground that glowed eerily. Gual stepped lightly to the crystal almost as if the mere sounds of his footfalls would break it. Being the only lighting in the great hall, the crystal was the centerpiece.

A light pulse from the crystal startled Gual, freezing the ape for a moment before he lowered himself into a kneeling bow.

"It seems you at least still know your place." Came a ghostly voice that made the hall to tremble. Gual warily raised his head, eyeing the bottom edge of the crystal.

"Of course my lord. I am forever your servant." Said Gual. A dark chuckle reverberated throughout the hall.

"Of course you are." Said the voice as if not believing the ape. Gual gulped and stayed frozen as he contemplated running; believing that his master was going to kill him. Before he could decide on what to do, the voice spoke again.

"Nevertheless, we have work to do." Gual let the breath he had been holding free out at his master's words. "Now rise." The Ape King did as told and stared headlong into the crystal. "As you can guess, freeing my soul alone from the Convexity Realm did not give me the physical body that I need to continue my campaign against the forces that oppose us. And the longer I remain like this the longer I will fade away into nothing." Gual's brow crested together. As much as he liked that idea himself, he knew he was nothing without the Dark Master.

"What do you require to survive?" Asked Gual.

"Magic, Dark magic. I can easily recreate my body, but without the needed amount trying would be useless. The coming of the Eternal Night would provide me with more than enough. But as it stands, I will not make it till then." Gual gained a confused look upon his face until realization dawned upon him.

"You are deteriorating away too fast right now. You will die before then if you don't get some magic to sustain yourself." The crystal pulsed once more.

"Correct. Perhaps there is a brain in there after all." Gual withheld his grumble. "Yes, without more dark magic I will die and I cannot manifest it on my own like this." Gual's master seemed to become longing as he said his next words. "As much as I hate too lose such a good weapon, we will need to drain Cynder of the dark magic that flows through her. It will be more than enough to sustain me until then." Gual grew confused at that.

"But Master?! Without the magic in her it will be impossible to control her." Stated Gual.

"Then get rid of her once it is done. And that excuse of a purple dragon. Spyro I believe his name was. Make an example of them before the rebellious forces. Or better yet," Said the voice, turning darker in tone as it went on. "Make them an example before the Guardians. Find where they are and have them killed before them. Make them watch. That'll show them that there is no hope left." A nasty smile had found its way upon Gual's face.

"It will be done, my lord." No more needed to be said as Gual bowed once more then turned on his heel and left the room. The doors closing with a resounding boom echoed through the hall.


	2. Execution

"Come here, runt!" Snarled Gual. The ape he had barked his order to moved quickly to his King. The smaller ape bowed cowardly at Gual's feet. Sneering down at the ape, Gual tossed a vial into the ape's paw.

"Take that and put it on Cynder's next meal." He ordered. The cowering ape looked at the vial and the clear liquid that sloshed around inside.

"What is it, my lord?"

"Don't you worry about that! Just do as I say! Once you have done so, go and get more apes and report outside of Cynder's quarters." The ape nodded and moved with haste. Gual watched the ape securing along the halls as a grin grew on his face.

'I've been waiting for this.' He thought as he started down the hall. Light from the sun's last rays shone through a single window as he passed by that glisten off his swords as Gual rested his large paws on their hilts, ready to use them. 'And I'm going to enjoy it.'

* * *

The sun was passing the mountains in the distance, shining it's final rays of light on the world for the day. As it passed, the rays of light glistened and shone off of the velvet red scales and seeped into the deep black ones that lined them, warming the owner.

Cynder sighed as the last bit of heat from the sun warmed her as the shadow of the night consumed her. Sitting on the balcony that jutted out from her quarters within Malefor's Mountain.

*Knock Knock Knock* A sudden knocking came from her door. Glancing at it, she almost told who she knew to be the apes bringing her meal to leave, not wanting to deal with them on this night, but thought differently when her stomach rumbled loudly. Rolling her eyes at herself, Cynder entered her room, closing her balcony doors as she passed by.

"Enter." She stated coldly. Swiftly and quietly, a team of apes carried in and placed down a large platter of food before her and just as quickly left. Cynder narrowed her eyes at her behavior as they normally stayed longer than they're welcome and bugged her. Looking down at her meal she noticed with a start that she was given fresh deer venison that couldn't be more than a few hours old.

'They never give me fresh meat, never this fresh anyway. What is-' Cynder's train of thought was swiftly cut short as her door was swung open wide with enough force to slam into the wall. Looking at the suspect, Cynder found Gual walking in.

"Ah, I see that you like your meal!" He said merely. Or at least as merely as he let himself be. Cynder eyed him as he walked in. Wondering what he was planning. She hasn't even taken a single bite.

"What makes you say that?" Asked Cynder as she tried to act like any normal dragon would with food before them and started to eat. Gual walked around Cynder as she sat in the center of the room and straight to the windows that bordered the balcony door and looked out it with his paws behind his back.

"Master Malefor thought of rewarding you for your ...dedication." Cynder froze at his words. She had caught Gaul's hesitation in his words. Mid bite into her next, Cynder turned her eyes over and settled her gaze on the Ape King. "He seems pleased with you in fact. So much so, he has already planned to use you in his next plans." Cynder narrowed her eyes but then continued on eating her meal.

"And what exactly is that?" She said between bites. Gual looked over his shoulder at Cynder as she ate. Turning back around to hide his smirk, Gual spoke once more.

"Well, his plans involve his full resurrection." Cynder glanced over at Gual once more.

"So he didn't come back, at least not completely." She looked away in thought before she noticed that she was suddenly leaning over to far before righting herself with a grunt. Gual looked back at her when he heard Cynder grunt. His smirk grew when saw her leaning over and a glazed look started to coat over her eyes.

"That's right. Our Master is without a body. He can easily make himself one, but to do so would require dark magic, more than what he has now."

"I assume then that it will be my job to collect it for him?" Asked Cynder as she finally managed to sit up right once more. 'What is wrong with me?' She asked herself. Gual turned around fully and began to circle the black dragoness.

"Actually, you see, you already have. You've had it all this time really." Said Gual.

Cynder grunted as she had to catch herself once more. Shaking her head, she asked.

"What do you mean by that? What is wrong with me?" Gual turned to her as he continued to walk around to her front.

"I mean the dark magic that I used so long ago to do this to you of course." He said as he gestured towards her. Cynder's eyes widened at his words. "Oh, and to your little predicament that you are having, well that would be the drought that I had put on your food. Tasteless, scentless, quite potent no?" He finished with a chuckle. With a hitch in her breath, Cynder realized they're plan. Before she could do anything, her limbs suddenly gave out, causing the dragoness to collapse on her side. Cynder groaned when she fell, her head bouncing off the floor.

"It seems you agree with me then. That's a first. Get in here now!" Ordered Gual. From Cynder's view came a large number of smaller apes that soon surrounded Cynder. As her vision started to become blurry, Gual came to the front of her muzzle.

"Ever since you became willing to follow orders you've always thought you were the strongest." He knelled down and looked her in her eyes.

"I bet this here must sting that dragon pride of yours." He chuckled once more and Cynder's vision finally went dark.

"I am most _definitely_ going to enjoy this." Was the last thing she heard as she finally blacked out.

* * *

"Uhh, huh? What, where am I?" Asked a voice. The owner could tell that something was still wrong as her voice was drowsy and her vision blurred in and out of focus. The sound of an object flying through the air sounded in her ear then-

*Wham!* "AHH! What the hell!" The female asked. Her vision finally focused in time that she could she what hit her. Just as the fist came right back.

*Wham!* "UHH! *cough cough* What the fuck!" She let her head hang limply as the female became aware that she was bound and being held upside down. Feeling her own blood start to pool in her mouth, the female spit her blood out onto the floor.

Immediately the floor lit up in red as her blood came in contact with the drawn in symbol below her.

"Now why did you have to go and do that for, Cynder?" Asked a male's voice. Cynder took one look and braced as another fist came her way.

*Wham* "I was just, *wham* having, *Wham* some, *Wham* FUN! *WHAM!*" Cynder swung backwards from the force as Gual, her torturer took great enjoyment from repeatedly hitting her.

"Enough Gual. There's more than enough blood for the ritual. We don't need her dying before it is complete." Gual turned around and bowed.

"Of course, my Lord." Gual said. Walking away, Cynder could now see the crystal that Gual had spoken too. Through her now one good eye, Cynder watched as the Crystal pulsed repeatedly in a rhythmical way like a heart. She knew who it was.

"Malefor." She growled out. Gual grinned at her defiance and made to hit her again when the voice stopped him.

"No need, Gual. The ritual is almost complete and soon she will die, along with that Spyro." Said Malefor. Cynder's eye widened at that. The voice turned on her. "Even when you don't serve me anymore you and that Spyro will be an example for all who oppose me when you die before them." Cynder's breath hitched as Malefor's plan form in her mind.

"But first, let's take that dark magic back." Suddenly the red glowing symbol below her that now spread out into a series of circles pulsed and shot upwards into her. Pain seared through her flesh as Cynder felt the dark magic that once gave her her form and power was torn from her. As it was drained from her body, Cynder began to shrink and age backwards, looking less and less of an adult to a mere young-ling no older than Spyro.

Finally, the red glow faded and the now hatch-ling Cynder fell to the ground, crumpling into and unconscious heap on the ground. Gual grunted and narrowed his eye. He had hoped that she would have remained conscious for a little long so he could have more fun, but doing so now may kill the female hatch-ling in her current state. Turning to one of his commanders in the room, he said.

"Take her, and get that whelp Spyro. You know what to do." With a salute, the ape did as his King asked as Gual left the chamber, leaving Malefor to bask in his restored magic.

* * *

"WAKE UP!" Came a scream. Jumping to his feet, Spyro quickly spun around, trying to find what had yelled, waking him from his sleep. Spotting the ape commander at the door to his cell. Growling a warning, Spyro backed up.

"I'd quit that if I were you, or you'll be back to sleep faster than you can count." Came another voice. Around the corner was a second ape commander. "Listen to what we say and we might let you walk there on your own. Otherwise, we drag you." Spyro stopped growling but narrowed his eyes.

"Now, come here." Ordered the first as he opened the cell door. The purple dragon tentatively took steps to the entrance. Once outside his cell, Spyro saw that more ape commanders were waiting for him. As he eyed them he soon took notice of a black dragon over one's shoulder. Smelling the air, he took notice that the dragon was female.

'Where did she come from? She looks no older than me. But I thought all the eggs were destroyed. The only other survivor was Cynder, and she is an adult now.' Thought Spyro.

"Move!" Ordered one as her kicked Spyro in his rear, pushing the dragon forward. Looking back and growling at his attacker, Spyro walked forward, falling in line behind the ape that carried the dragoness. As he walked, the young dragon could easily see the face of the dragoness that the ape carried.

'She looks so familiar, like I've seen her before.' Soon, his eyes drifted up to the markings on her forehead. 'Wait, I've seen those before. Those are the same markings Cynder has. But how does she have them? Where did Cynder go?' He asked himself. Looking around, Spyro tried in vain to find the answer as if there would have been a sign there to tell him. Thinking back to when he last saw Cynder and what she told him only left more questions.

'She said that she'd have food and water brought to me. Was she lying all along,or did something happen?' As Spyro continued to think of the possibilities, a new voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Ah, seems I've caught you just in time." Turning to his right, Spyro found the ape that he first saw when he first woke up. Narrowing his eyes as the apes around him bowed to their King, Spyro growled out his name.

"Gual." Said ape smiled evilly.

"Seems you remember me. Too bad it doesn't matter anymore." Gual came to a stop in front of the ape that carried the dragoness. Grabbing her drooping head by one of her horns that just barely jutted out behind her head, he gazed over her with a smile.

"To think I would be getting rid of two nuisances in one day. First you Spyro," He looked at the purple dragon, "and this little wench. To think she was actually once a threat to me just a few moments ago." Gual laughed as he threw her head down. "Enjoy the rest of your life free, Cynder." Spyro's eyes widened. That was Cynder! But what happened to her? Not but a few hours ago she was bigger than any of the Guardians.

As these thoughts raced through Spyro's mind, he didn't see Gual walk up to him until it was too late. Gual raised his foot, then brought it down with force on Spyro's head, sending Spyro back onto his side.

"That's for all the trouble, whelp." Said Gual as he turned to walk away. Spyro couldn't move as his vision slowly went black. His last sight was Gual walking away.

"Carry on commander. Report back to me when the job is done. I want all the details as soon as possible." Was the last thing Spyro heard before his consciousness slipped away.

* * *

"Urh, uh." Groaned Spyro. Shaking his head, the young dragon looked around him. "Where am I?" He asked himself. Pushing himself up so he could stand, Spyro continued to look around. All around him was nothing but whiteness. Pure white. Looking down, Spyro found that the "floor" he stood on was white as well.

"What is this place?" Asked Spyro.

"Its your mindscape." Replied a voice that sounded behind him. Spinning around quickly, Spyro looked for the source and found it quickly. How could he not. Standing there, practically black as night against the white background, was a perfect clone of Spyro himself. Everything from the clone's tail to its horns was the same. The only differences were that the clone's scales were a dark purple, so dark they were almost a black purple, and the golden horns were a dulled gold that held so shine like Spyro's when he cleaned them.

When Spyro finally looked at its eyes he found the major difference. The clone's eyes were pure white. Taking a step back, Spyro asked.

"W-who are you? What are you?" The being cocked it head to the side.

"The only answer I can give you is that I'm you, in both cases." It walked forward, closer to Spyro. As it walked around him, looking at him as if studying Spyro, Spyro spoke again as he kept his eyes on the copy of himself.

"What do you mean by "I'm you"?" he asked. The clone finally came back around and nodded as if satisfied.

"I mean exactly what I said. I'm you." Spyro blinked.

"But how? I'm me." Spyro paused after he spoke and thought about what he said. 'Yeah, nice one Spyro. That one made a lot of sense.' He thought. The clone chuckled as it sat down.

"Yeah, that didn't make sense, did it." It was a statement. Spyro immediately lock eyes with the clone.

"Did you just read my mind?" Though no pupil could be seen, Spyro knew his clone just rolled its eyes just by its head moving.

"You're not the brightest one around are you? Yes, I did. We're the same person remember. Your thoughts are my thoughts." It said. 'See.' It thought. What caught Spyro by surprise was that he heard what the clone thought plain as day. Stepping back, Spyro tried to find what to say next when the clone cocked its head to the side.

"As much as I love this little talk, I think you, or rather we should wake up now." Spyro's brow furled and he was about to ask what his clone meant when everything faded away.

For a moment all Spyro knew was darkness. Then, blinking his eyes, the world around him faded in. Before in was an empty field that spanned of miles, ending with tall walls that rose so high he couldn't see over them. The sun shone off the sides of the wall, partially blocked by the mountains on the horizon as the morning sun started its rise. Though miles away, Spyro could clearly see creatures of various colors were gathering on the top of the wall.

"Hurry up you flea-bags!" Ordered a rough voice. Noticing the language the owner spoke with was not the common tongue quite obviously, Spyro tried to turn but found his legs were tied together. Craning his neck instead, Spyro found the ape commander that had carried the dragoness ordering its underlings around. The small band of apes were building something behind him.

'Wait, that dragoness was Cynder! Where is-' He found the target of his unfinished thought. Right there beside him was the black dragoness that had once been the Terror of the Skies.

"You awake yet, dragon?" Asked the ape in common tongue as he came around to Spyro's front. Spyro tried to spew fire at the ape but found rope had been tied around his muzzle. Settling for a growl, Spyro glared at the ape. The ape chuckled in sick humor as he grabbed Spyro by his horn and started to drag him to the thing the smaller apes were just finishing building.

Whimpering against the tugging of his horn, Spyro tried to resist but found his entire body bound in someway, forcing every limb held tight against his body. Soon the ape reached the construction and threw a rope over the top beam. Putting one end under one foreleg, across his chest, under his other foreleg, and then tying it tightly just behind his shoulders, the ape ordered him minions to pull. Soon Spyro found himself hoisted into the air with his head hanging free move. Soon, before Spyro could do anything, the ape had tied his tail to a wooden beam that was near the ground, holding it taut to the point he could barely move.

Soon, Cynder who was still unconscious, was tied up the same way next to him. Her head limply hanging against her chest.

Looking forward, Spyro found that both he and Cynder were facing the walls that were now had creatures of so many colors he thought he was seeing things. Whatever the creatures were, they were large enough to be seen from miles away.

And now both he and Cynder were on display for them all to see.

By now the sun had risen past the horizon and shone off the scales on his back. Looking around, Spyro found the lead ape commander was sharpening a large axe. As realization dawned upon him, Spyro's eyes widened and he began to look around for some type of escape but soon found that none existed.

'Not exactly what you had planned is it?' Thought Spyro as he continued to look around.

'Wait, that wasn't me.'

'Nope, it was me.' His eyes widening, Spyro realized the voice wasn't his own, but that of his clone. 'Finally catching on are you? Good.'

'So your weren't a dream then?' Asked Spyro?

'Once more, nope. And for the sake of your sanity, just call me… Shade.'

'Shade?'

'Yeah, you know. I'm your shadow, your shade.' Spyro heard his clone's laughter echo though hi head.

'Oh brother.' Thought Spyro. 'Guess there's no way to ignore you is there?'

'Well, there is, which may actually help in this case.' Spyro's brow rose as he looked to the ape commander once more.

'And what would that be?'

'Hmm, think of it this way, you can,with training, seclude me within your mind and even keep certain thoughts out of my reach. But that takes years to master.' Spyro scoffed.

'If it gets you to shut up, I'll learn it. Now how does it help us?' Asked Spyro.

'Ha, ha. Laugh it up.' Said Shade, 'It's sort of the same thing, but instead of you being in charge, I will be.' Spyro blinked.

'Wait a second, you mean that you will be in control of my body?'

'No, I'll be in charge of our body. Better make up your mind quickly, hairy there looks ready to start chopping.' Surprised, Spyro looked once more at the ape. The commanded was making his way to the pair of dragons with the ax hefted over his shoulder. With worry in his eyes, Spyro looked towards the wall again. Colors of all sorts were flying towards them but he knew they wouldn't make it in time.

Who was that leading the group?

Shaking his head, Spyro turned back to Shade.

"And what can you do that I can't?' Spyro could practically _feel_ Shade shrug.

'Couldn't tell you. Only I can do it. Better hurry.' Spyro growled.

'What do you mean! I thought we were the same person! Whatever you can do, I can to.'

'No time. Better choose, me, or the ax.' Spyro almost felt as if Shade, or whoever it was, was lying about something if nothing else. But as he looked at the ape once more as it raised its ax up, reading to strike a killing blow, its target being Spyro himself, he made his decision quickly.

'Alright! You win!' Yelled Spyro.

'And that is…' Shade left the rest of his sentence hanging off. Spyro could almost feel that Shade was secretly enjoying this. Without hesitation, Spyro said it out loud.

"Do it!" He yelled as the ax came down. The last thing he saw was the axe swinging full force down towards him before everything went black. Though he couldn't see, Spyro still heard Shade's last word, though now, it was with _his_ body.

"Heh, heh. This'll be fun." His laughter faded out as Spyro slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

"YOU! Go and get the Guardians! NOW!" Before the captain's words finished leaving his muzzle, the dragon armored in plates of armor across his body took to the skies and headed for the city hall where the Guardians commanded the armies of the city from.

Exhaling sharply, the captain turned back to the horizon where the sun's rays had just revealed the apes far away.

"Don't let this mean they will attack this soon." He said to himself. Walking to the edge where a lone mole was standing on the edge looking through a spyglass.

"Tel me again to be sure, what do you see?" The mole glanced up at the dragon above him before looking through the spyglass once more.

"It's slightly larger than a squad size element. There's more commander size apes than needed, Captain." The Captain's eyes narrowed as he looked at the group of apes.

"Is it a recon group?" The mole shook his head.

"I don't think so. They seem to be building something." That caught the Captain's interest.

"A siege weapon?" The mole shook his head again.

"No, not big enough." The Captain growled. Not knowing what was happening was starting to grate on his nerves. "It looks like…" The mole paused. The Captain looked down at the mole, waiting to see what he would say. Soon he grew impatient.

"Looks like what, Sergeant?!" The mole didn't even flinch. Lowering his spyglass, he looked up at the Captain.

"It looks like a gallows, sir." The Captain's eyes widened. Who could the apes have that would be so important that they would build a gallows a little more than a thousand meters away from the Walls of Warfang itself.

"An execution? But whose?"

"I don't know Captain. But whoever it is they have to be important for the apes to be doing this. Maybe the Guardians will know."

"Captain!" Yelled a voice. Turning the Captain found a young electric dragon running towards him, a spyglass for a dragon in her paw. "Here you go, sir." Taking the spyglass, the Captain went to turn away but stopped.

"Runner, could you get my helm from my office." The runner's eyes widened.

"Is it that bad, sir?" The Captain sighed as he turned towards the squad of apes.

"I pray it is not." He said as he looked through the dragon sized spyglass. The runner left without another word.

Being larger than the mole's, the Captain's spyglass was able to "zoom in" better, allowing the Captain to see the apes and what they were doing more easily. Looking around, the Captain soon found something of interest outside of the apes and what they were building.

"Sergeant, do you see that, the figures just in front of the gallows."

"Yes, I do. I couldn't tell what it was though." The Captain continued to try and conclude what the figures were before realization came to him. Lowering the spyglass, he started to speak.

"Its-"

"Pegaurious! What is going on?!" Yelled a voice behind the Captain found that it was the Fire Guardian, Ignitus with the other three behind him. Nodding a greeting, he said.

"Apes, Ignitus. A little larger than a squad is just outside a kilometer away." He said as the Guardians landed. The Captain, now known as Pegaurious, handed his spyglass to Ignitus. "They are building a gallows, and seem to have prisoners. It looks like two dragons, but…" Pegaurious hesitated. Ignitus and Terrador looked at the Captain, waiting for an answer. Pegaurious settled his resolve and continued.

"It seems that the apes have two prisoners, and by the looks of it, they're dragons." All four of the Guardians acting the same, surprised and a bit frightened. Ignitus quickly started to look through the spyglass when the Captain's next words stopped him flat.

"They look like hatchlings." All of the Guardians froze. The Captain took immediate notice and spoke quickly.

"I know, I know. It's impossible. There hasn't been any hatchlings in over twelve years. Not since the incident at the Temple. All dragons are afraid to bare any eggs in this war, especially with the Terror of the Skies around." He said mournfully. And he wasn't alone. After the incident at the Temple, all dragons within the controlled territories were to scared to lay any eggs.

Ignitus acted first. Looking through the spyglass, Ignitus quickly found the apes and the pair of dragons they had. He took immediate notice of the purple color of one of them.

"It's him! Its Spyro! He's alive!" The other Guardians cheered as the Captain looked on in bewilderment. Ignitus looked to the Captain.

"Get a team, quickly. We have to get to him." Not knowing what else to do, Pegaurious just nodded and stopped the first team of dragons that went past him. Turn back to the Guardians, he found them missing. Looking beyond the wall, he found all four Guardians were already speeding towards the apes.

"With me!" And with his order the team of dragons followed their Captain and flew as quickly as possible to catch the Guardians as they flew at breakneck pace to reach their destination. Looking back, Pegaurious saw that the entire wall was covered with guards as they awaited their orders. Orders he wasn't even sure of. As the Captain went to turn back, he noticed something. A yellow blur following right behind him.

"Runner, why are you outside the wall?!" It was the runner from before. Huffing, she replied as she flew up next to him.

"You asked for your helm, sir!" Blinking at her, he looked at her claws and there was his helm. It was royal green that highlighted his forest green scales. It was a wonder how he didn't notice it before. Taking it from her, he donned it and was about to order her to go back when a thought came to mind.

"Stay with us. I might need you to relay an order. Stay behind me." Nodding, the young dragoness did as told. Looking forward once more, Pegaurious found that the Guardians were almost to the ape.

"Faster, the Guardians may need our help." He ordered back to the team behind him.

* * *

"Ignitus!" Called Volteer. Looking behind himself, Ignitus looked to Volteer for him to continue. He took notice that the Electric Guardian's eyes were glowing, signs that he was using his element to increase his eyesight.

"There's something wrong. They have Spyro and a black dragoness tied up, but Spyro's scale they're turning black!" Eyes wide, Ignitus looked to the young dragons once more. Though it was harder for him, he could see Spyro's scales were starting to turn black.

But what concerned him more was the Ape with the ax that was about to take the purple dragon's head off.

And they were too far to do anything about it. Just when the ax started to fall, Ignitus faintly hard Spyro yell before the darkness that once just barely moved along his body, consumed him completely. And as the ax went to cut through his head, Spyro disappeared.

Unsure of what just transpired, Ignitus stopped, the other Guardians stopping beside him. Pegaurious and the team he summoned soon caught up to the four.

"Ignitus, why are we stopping?" The Fire Guardian barely graced him with a glance before searching the ground once more for Spyro. And he wasn't the only one. All of the apes were doing the same. A few took notice of the dragons that flew above them, but soon became more concerned as to where the purple dragon went to.

Then, from nowhere at all, a cloud of smoke blacker than the darkest of night consumed all of the apes.

At first the apes gave out a surprised yell, then the pained screams blocked out all other sounds. The sound of fighting was heard only briefly as a few apes tried to fight back but without their sight they were no match for their unknown enemy.

The dragons above watched on in a mixture of curiosity, awe, and terror as this unknown force unleashed its power on the apes.

Then, just as quickly as it came, the shadowy, black cloud disappeared. All that remained was apes scattered across the area, limbs torn from their sockets and their guts ripped from their bodies, and there, now hanging from the gallows was a lone ape from a noose. The same ape that had held the axe with the intent to take Spyro's life.

His own intestines became his own noose.

Just off to the side of the gallows were the two dragons. His once black scales were now the vibrant purple once more but the blood that covered them shown proof of who killed the apes. Spyro laid there, unconscious, but laying over the black dragoness protectively.

Landing among the carnage, the Guardians approached the pair. The Captain and his team remained above to act as a lookout for those below them.

"Ignitus, how could he have been able to do this?" Asked Cyril. "If I'm right, that was the shadow element, something Spyro can't use." Ignitus shook his head.

"I do not know." Before he could say more, a growl was heard.

Looking at its source, the Guardians found the Spyro wasn't unconscious. As Spyro's eyes settled on the Guardians, his growling stopped.

"I-Ig-*cough*, Ignitus." He wheezed out as he tried to stand before falling back down. Moving quickly, the Guardians surrounded the pair.

"Easy, Spyro. You used a lot of energy just now." Spyro looked weakly up at Ignitus before closing his eyes once more.

"I didn't have a choice. He said he could do it, what I couldn't." Terrador narrowed his eyes.

"Do what Spyro? All of this?" Asked the green dragon as he gestured to the carnage around them. Spyro weakly nodded.

"Who is "He", Spyro?" Asked Cyril. Before Spyro could answer, Ignitus spoke up.

"A question for a later time. For now Spyro must rest. Terrador, take the dragoness. I will take Spyro." Nodding, the Earth Guardian picked up the black dragoness after Ignitus picked up Spyro and took to the sky. The remaining two Guardians right behind the.

"Pegaurious, we need to get these two to the infirmary." The Captain nodded and turned to look behind himself.

"Runner, go to the infirmary. Tell them we have two dragons going there now." Nodding, the yellow dragoness took off far faster than any of the adults could.

Together, with the team and their Captain escorting them, the Guardians carried the two young dragons back to the walls of Warfang and to safety.

* * *

**A/N: There's the first two chapters. I'm not sure when I'll get the next two up. These two alone took a year but I'll do my best. Till next time, Please read and review.**


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